Hull FC take on St Helens at the MKM Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with the side aiming to break their home duck and get a first win in West Hull this year. The side will hopefully welcome back Jed Cartwright to do just that, with musings coming elsewhere on future England selectees, loop fixtures, the academy, and more. Here is the latest notebook.
Big game ahead
It’s cliché, but every game is now massive with 11 rounds of the Super League season to go and the race for the play-offs heating up. Currently, Hull are locked in sixth place, but they have Wakefield Trinity breathing down their necks, with the West Yorkshire side just one point behind. Elsewhere, Warrington are three points adrift, with Catalans Dragons five behind. Looking up, and Saints currently have a three-point gap on Hull – one the Black and Whites will be determined to close this Saturday, with Leigh Leopards four points ahead and Leeds Rhinos five – the two latter sides meet this round.
Hull know the stakes and they know the pressure, but table glances aside, they need a result and a performance. Having Cartwright back will help, giving Hull a back rower for the first time in three months, but it’s about the team and how they shape up, complete, and play.
Hull, akin to their performance against Castleford Tigers last month, made too many errors at Warrington, with the fix-ups clear to see. Once more, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s all about completion. Get that right, attack in the desired areas, turn the ball over on their terms, and there’s enough spirit and fight in Hull to get the job done. A huge clash awaits.
Armed Forces Day
It would be remiss not to mention the club’s Armed Forces Day, which takes place for the St Helens game. The Black and Whites’ association with the army goes way back, most recently to Mitieli Vulikijapani and Ratu Naulago, not to mention Manoa Wacokecoke, with the former academy player leaving Goole Vikings last month to start his own army career.
Over the course of history, many Hull players served as part of their National Service, most famously Johnny Whiteley back in the 1950s. The Hull FC immortal was stationed in Vienna, making a pact with his Hull Boys Club teammates not to sign professionally until they completed their conscription. Elsewhere, another Hull immortal in Clive Sullivan served, as did club legend Arthur Keegan.
Hull FC’s England motivation
The latest 32-man England train-on squad featured no Hull FC players. Announced this week, Shaun Wane took a field session with the squad on Tuesday, with John Cartwright believing it serves as good motivation for his players, with the likes of Will Pryce, Harvey Barron, Lewis Martin, and Davy Litten tipped to make their mark on the international scene in the future.
“It’s a good challenge for our boys,” Cartwright said. “If they feel they were wronged, there’s only one way to prove it, and that’s out on the field on the weekend. It’s a hard one for me to comment on; I’m not deeply involved, and I don’t know what the English selectors are looking for, but I’m happy with where our boys are at, and I’m also very optimistic about how much improvement they have in them.”
Loop fixtures take
John Cartwright was also asked about loop fixtures in his pre-match press conference, with the Hull boss offering a diplomatic take on a scenario that has seen St Helens play Salford three times already this season, with their first clash of the year against the Black and Whites coming this weekend.
“It’s a tough one,” Cartwright said. “You look back on it now, and it’s not fair on certain teams, but at the start of the year, you’re not to know that. Who was to know that Salford were going to be where they are—they came off last season, where they were semi-finalists and not far off from the Grand Final. Unfortunately, what has happened to Salford has happened, and then we look at things like that. It’s not perfect, but when you can’t just play each other twice, it’s never going to be perfect. It’s gone St Helens’ way at the moment, but it might go our way next time.”
Academy defeated
Hull FC Academy were defeated 36-8 at Warrington Wolves last Saturday. It was a tough outing for Francis Cummins’ side, with tries coming from Tyler Eccles and Josh Horne. Meanwhile, the reserves are in action against St Helens at Cottingham Tigers this Friday night, with some academy players, Callum Kemp, Lloyd Kemp, et al., expected to feature alongside Ryan Westerman and co. Kick off is at 7:30 pm.
Women beaten
Hull FC’s women’s side were defeated 26-14 at Sheffield Eagles on Sunday afternoon.